(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



An Open Letter to Congressman Fitzpatrick (R, PA-1) [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-27  

Congressman Fitzpatrick:

I know you self-identify as a “problem solver” moderate, but here’s the thing: you just voted to elevate a Christian nationalist to the Speaker of the House, and I simply can’t understand why. Language matters, and when I say Mike Johnson is a Christian nationalist, I mean specifically that he believes that the Establishment Clause in the 1st Amendment is a one way street: government may not interfere with religion, but Evangelical principles can and should be imposed on the government. He has articulated this argument in writing, lest you think I am simply stating my opinion. The dangerous, un-democratic problem with Christian nationalists is that they are so imbued with self-righteous certainty, that the end (imposing their biblical vision of civil society on all of us) will always justify the means, no matter how odious those means might be.

Mr. Johnson’s bigotry against gay folk is well-documented. Prior to walking into elected office (he was unopposed in his first two runs for state office), he worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization proudly dedicated to protecting the right to discriminate against LGBT citizens. He has written, and spoken, extensively on the subject. He believes states should still be permitted to criminalize same sex relations. His views on abortion are equally awful, as he supports a complete ban with no exceptions. He is, objectively, an extremist bigot.

If I sound angry, that’s because I am. Mike Johnson tried to invalidate my vote in 2020. Worse still, he tried to invalidate my parents’ votes. They were 80 years old for the 2020 election and we all enthusiastically utilized mail-in votes in accordance with Pennsylvania law. You may have forgotten, Congressman, but MAGA Mike was the author of the legal challenge that Pennsylvania’s bipartisan legislation to permit mail-in votes was somehow illegal, and that all those votes should not have been counted. It was (and remains) a stupid and cynical argument, soundly rejected by the courts, but is a fine example of the means he is prepared to use to try to achieve his ends.

To be clear, there was an alternative to elevating this man. If, in fact, there really is a “moderate” wing of the Republican party, that wing could have approached moderate Democrats about a coalition solution. I doubt the price would have been all that steep. How about a simple up or down vote on the ridiculous Biden impeachment effort in return for Democratic votes for a moderate Speaker? Did any Republican even try? Did you?

Instead, you bowed to pressure from the extremists. Why should we trust you to hold any line? What will you do when MAGA Mike separates aid to Ukraine from aid to Israel and either kills or slow walks the Ukraine aid? Will you go along with it? Will you oppose a national abortion ban when MAGA Mike introduces it? A national “Don’t Say Gay” law (one of the few pieces of legislation the new Speaker ever introduced)? You have gay constituents, you have Jewish constituents, Muslim and Hindu constituents, constituents with family in Ukraine and more than half of your constituents are women. Why should we trust you to protect us after this vote?

If you couldn’t hold the line against putting a Christian nationalist bigot with no prior leadership experience (beyond leading the attack on Pennsylvanians’ right to vote) second in the line of succession to the Presidency, then I have news for you Congressman: you are not a moderate, you are merely a reluctant extremist. And a coward.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/27/2202073/-An-Open-Letter-to-Congressman-Fitzpatrick-R-PA-1?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/